Adélaïde Labille-Guiard strives to be an artist. However, in 18th century France with an unsupportive husband, that is a difficult task. Adélaïde takes care of the husband part by separating from him and taking instruction from François André Vincent at the Louvre. Already an accomplished pastelist, Adélaïde develops her painting skills and becomes one of the first women to show at Salons and be accepted to the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. Adélaïde still struggled financially and decided to take up female students, furthering the acceptance of women as artists. Just when it seems that Adélaïde has been accepted into the higher ranks of artists with royal commissions, the Royal family falls from grace and the Revolution begins.

Based on the real Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, The Portraitist brings to light the story of passion, struggle and talent in 18th century France. From the beginning of the story as Adélaïde separates from her husband and finds her way to gain instruction in painting, I could sense her fierce determination. The writing drew me into the world of the artists, the Salons and the disparities of pre-Revolutionary France. I was amazed at the strength Adélaïde had to forge through with her dreams, especially with her economic situation. I was equally interested in the other woman artist, Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun who was accepted in the artists world at the same time as Adélaïde and were seen as rivals. I do wonder what would have happened if they joined forces rather than competed. I was amazed at Adélaïde's creativity for finding funds by creating erotic art. It's too bad that this probably isn't true. The Revolution changed a lot for Adélaïde, it seems she was able to live her life more comfortably, but never regained her traction as an artist. Overall, an important story of an overlooked female artist.

This story was received for free in return for an honest review.
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I really enjoyed this book based on the life of Adélaïe Labille-Guiard, who I was really glad to learn about through this book. It really brought to life Paris in the 18th century and the determination of a brilliant woman to succeed as a painter!

Please NOTE: I received early access to this manuscript in exchange for working an impartial review. Thank you NetGalley and She Writes Press. Publication: August 30, 2022.

THE PORTRAITIST: A NOVEL OF ADELAIDE LABILLE-GUIARD is an historical novel recounting the life of a little-known but talented French artist who, because she is a woman, struggles all her life to gain the kind of opportunities and recognition male artists at the time received. As the author explains in the Afterword, not much has been written about this woman which allowed Susanne Dunlap some leeway, for example, to add more substance to a supposed rivalry between Adélaïde and another more famous woman painter of the time, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842).

Adélaïde, though artistically gifted from childhood, is unable to access the kind of training readily available to men. Nor, as she ages, is she able to recruit the same calibre of students who study with men. She isn't paid as much as a male teachers. Her commissioned art doesn't command as high a price as her male contemporaries. Nor is she eligible for the kind of government subsidies available to artists like Jacques-Louis David.

Though we so often think of French society as one that has always honored arts of all kinds, the truth is that they, like most others, have only done so through the lens of patriarchy. Chauvinism played a major role in the challenges of her personal life as well, but it was learning about the life of a female artist at this time that was fascinating to me.

Adélaïde, though artistically gifted from childhood, is unable to access the kind of training readily available to men. Nor, as she ages, is she able to recruit the same calibre of students who study with men. She isn't paid as much as a male teachers. Her commissioned art don’t command as high a price as her male contemporaries. Nor is she eligible for the kind of government subsidies available to artists like Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825).

Instead Adélaïde must rely on her own formidable determination to secure an important mentor in the artist François-André Vincent (1746-1816) and to attract the notice of prominent patrons. Enough so that eventually she is one of the few women admitted to the elite Académie Royale.

Adélaïde (1749-1803) also lived through interesting times and her story cannot be separated from the unfolding of the French Revolution, and it’s life-changing effects on all levels of French society, including the art world. Historical events force artists relying on patronage for their survival to shift allegiances first from powerful nobles in the court of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, then to the men who rule during the Reign of Terror, and then again after these leaders too are executed.

It’s Adélaïde's success, DESPITE all the obstacles, that held my interest. That, and my own admiration for her art. There are a few places where I thought the pace of the novel slowed and a few significant jumps in time toward the end that felt jarring, like I'd missed something. But overall, highly recommended!

This was a beautifully written and inspiring read, covering not only the struggles of a female artist navigating male-dominated spaces of the 18th century art world but also the chaos and tension in pre and post-revolutionary France. The descriptions of the artists' work were so rich that I often found myself putting the book aside momentarily to look up paintings. It's evident that Susanne Dunlap really put effort into her research and cared about her subjects - even taking the time to share with the reader what elements of her writing were more embellished in her author's note.

Adelaide Labille-Guiard was never mentioned in any of my art history or painting classes in college, and I'm so glad that more attention is being given to her story and work.

Thank you to NetGalley, She Writes Press, and Susanne Dunlap for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

At A Glance
historical fiction
adventurous
emotional
Informative
inspiring

Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐

About
Based on a true story, this is the tale of Adélaïde Labille-Guiard’s fight to take her rightful place in the competitive art world of eighteenth-century Paris.

With a beautiful rival who’s better connected and better trained than she is, Adélaïde faces an uphill battle. Her love affair with her young instructor in oil painting gives rise to suspicions that he touches up her work, and her decision to make much-needed money by executing erotic pastels threatens to create as many problems as it solves. Meanwhile, her rival goes from strength to strength, becoming Marie Antoinette’s official portraitist and gaining entrance to the elite Académie Royale at the same time as Adélaïde.

When at last Adélaïde earns her own royal appointment and receives a massive commission from a member of the royal family, the timing couldn’t be worse: it’s 1789, and with the fall of the Bastille her world is turned upside down by political chaos and revolution. With danger around every corner in her beloved Paris, she must find a way to adjust to the new order, carving out a life and a career all over again—and stay alive in the process.

Review
Thank you to @netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to receive this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a completely different book than I generally pick up to read - but I am really glad I went for it! The Portraitist was a wonderfully fictionalized story of Adélaïde Labille-Guiard’s life and experiences as a young female artist during a time when females were meant to be in the shadows.

While this is, at its core, a fictionalized biography of Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, it definitely does not read like that. It's filled to the brim with an exciting, adventurous and captivating story. I absolutely love that Adélaïde's story has been kept alive for generations to come through this book!

Adélaïde is a fierce main character in her story and I am immensely proud of her and all the effort she put forth to become this amazing artist that we're still talking about three centuries later. I didn't study art in school, so I don’t know if Adélaïde Labille-Guiard is part of the curriculum, but she should be! Young artists, especially females, could not help but be inspired and energized to develop their own skills and tenacity as they learn about Adélaïde.

The next time someone asks me, "If you could sit down with someone for an hour, alive or dead, who would you pick?" I will definitely be adding Adélaïde to the top of that list thanks to Susanne Dunlap's amazing novel!

The Portraitist comes out at the end of the month (08/30) and you absolutely need to get your hands on a copy!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Many thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for this opportunity.

Author Susanne Dunlap has written a fabulous account of the life, struggles and creative talent of the female artist Adélaïde Labille-Guiard. The book is colourful and passionate and one that was a great joy to read, in particular as an artist of many years myself and having had the opportunity of seeing paintings by Adélaïde as well as paintings from her rival, Louise-Elisabeth Vigée-Le-Brun at the Louvre.

Unlike Elisabeth (Louise-Elisabeth) who was beautiful as well as talented, Adélaïde didn't have that pretty demure that would give a favourable first impression and she considered herself plain and to add to her struggle she was in a loveless marriage. Nicolas, her husband did not appreciate her talent and during a fierce argument he became violent.

This episode gives Adélaïde the opportunity she needs to be rid of him to pursue her love of painting. Her father was never a fan of Nicolas and takes her back into his household. She applies for a separation, her divorce follows sometime later.

From here on she is in the grip of her ambition but there are many obstacles that she needs to overcome, supporting herself financially is one of the main ones. Taking rooms as a studio to have for students is one way but this doesn't bring her enough money to buy her canvases, paints and brushes, in particular those needed for her to pursue her ambition to paint in oils. Unlike Elisabeth who is admired by many and is a key portraitist for Marie Antoinette and other important royals, Adélaïde finds herself having to continue her small erotica pastels that she sells to her dealer unsigned. Having to resort to this type of artwork holds a terrible risk for her, firstly if Nicolas purchased one, would he recognise her style and also that it might blight her further ambitions for obtaining a royal commission if her name came to light as "le pastelier érotique".

Adélaïde had already exhibited her paintings through the Académie de Saint-Luc but this was closed due to the influence of the Royal Academy. Now she must strive to be admitted to the Royal Academy. She takes classes in oil painting with François-Andre Vincent (Andre) as she knows that her real future is in this medium. He recognises her talent, ambition, knowledge and looks at her in a manner that she has never experienced with a magnetic attraction to each other developing but Adélaïde is aware of her predicament that could jeopardize all that she wants if Nicolas was to come be aware of any love liaisons.

Eventually a royal commission comes her way but it's to lesser royals and she grudgingly accepts that it is unlikely that she will be in the same limelight as her rival, Elisabeth. There is no doubt that she is jealous of Elisabeth, her contacts, the large fees that come her way as well as being married and a mother. It seems her rival has so much while she struggles. This aspect of her life is her one weakness, obsessed with her rival. However, as time moves on and the Reign of Terror grips France, Elisabeth flees the country while Adélaïde is able to stay in France. She loses out financially with her lesser royals also fleeing France and not honouring fees due to her. However, Adélaïde has a much more contented life than Elisabeth after France recovers from its turmoil.

Personally, I found this book to be a compelling and wonderfully heartfelt book. As a historical fiction book, it manages to not only captivate my attention, but I also felt moved by Adelaide Labille-Guiard’s history and any writing having to do with her paintings. The writing was 100% the best part of this novel. It felt so vivacious and raw. I felt like I was there with Adelaide watching the events of her life and feeling every emotion she felt. If someone was looking to get into historical fiction, this would be the perfect gateway as it’s exciting, factual, and beautifully written. I applaud Susanne Dunlap for not only being able to write such a unique and beguiling book, but for also sharing the life of Adelaide with readers in a sensitive and thought-out way.

Really good. I was at a conference when I started reading this and I didn't want to put it down. I will probably read this again.

I like this book and the artistic and sometimes poetic way that Dunlap wrote of the world through an artists eye. The book spans the majority of Adelaide Labille-Guiard's life, which makes it both comprehensive, but also at times a bit shallow as it jumps between years.
I enjoyed the texture descriptions of Adelaide's life, and her relationship with Gabrielle and Andre. It was interesting to hear about the French Revolution from someone one the inside and close to nobility without being noble themselves - you often hear of this subject from the people's perspective (or in an abject way).

I wish that some of the emotions that were touched upon ran deeper. I felt, maybe because of the nature of the entire life-span in one book, that sometimes I wanted more of the inner workings or deeper day to day life and emotions that Adelaide felt. I felt in certain chapters where pivotal either crushing rejections or again injustices against woman in art, or even fearful times, were missing a depth to them. Towards the end I felt more of the sorrow for her burned paintings, but even that was still in a restrained way.

I would give it a solid 3.5-3.7/5 stars.

favourite quote: "yet art pushes onwards, changing as the world changes. We scramble along behind, trying to fix everything before our eyes in place as it is right now, but to what purpose? Those who come after us will never truly be able to understand what we saw. They will view the images through different eyes, eyes that know truths yet to be understood."

This book is a magical journey. It is about the Adelaide Labille-Guiard, a not-that-famous royal portraitist during the French Revolution, and her lifelong rivalry with Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Marie Antoinette's s favorite painter.
Since she was very young Adelaide showed a passionate interest in art and painting. She dedicated her life and her efforts to ensuring that the talent of women is considered as valuable as that of men in the academic spheres of pre- and post-revolutionary France.
The book is not only well documented in the historical facts but is also beautifully written and it shows a vast knowledge, great respect, and admiration for Adelaide and her work.
I found particularly interesting the passages in the book dedicated to her life once the revolution broke out and how he managed to escape the violence unleashed against those considered enemies of the Republic due to their ties to the monarchy, and how she feels torn between the need to complete the jobs she was committed to doing and her deep conviction of the need for change.

The novel is a beautiful piece of historical fiction and I would highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. "...that it was our place as artists to bear witness to the moment, pouring every bit of ourselves into that one endeavor."
18th century Paris, we enter the world of artists. Adelaie Labille-Guiard is working hard to prove herself not only as an artist but a successful woman artist. She's very talented in pastels but enlists a tutor to teach her oils. After several years her tutor becomes her lover. Her skill has grown with her hard work and she is finally accepted into the elite Academie Royale the same year as her rival, Elizabeth le Brun.

In 1789, Adelaide finally receives her first Royal Commission. It's a massive undertaking that will cost her an incredible amount of money to complete. Artists weren't paid up front for their work. She was constantly trying to stay ahead of her bills while teaching her students and working on her own commissions. This commission is from a member of the Royal family and would be her triumph. But it was not to be as politics raged, people starved and her work as an artist was pushed aside. The fall of the Bastille and the Revolution spread across her beloved Paris. No longer feeling safe, she leaves with her lover and closest students. She is forced to bear witness to many paintings being destroyed, including her own.

The happenings in Paris with the deposed and massacred monarchy is sort of brushed over in favor of covering and following Adelaide. I didn't mind because I've read several books on the subject. If a reader wasn't as well informed, this might bother them while reading the book. The book ends with her passing away, with Napoleon ruling in Paris and art once again coming alive. I liked getting to know a lesser known woman artist. I enjoyed learning more about the art process and the struggle women especially had to succeed and prove themselves. While Adelaide struggled almost her entire career, her rival had had royal connections, salons and other opportunities that she didn't. Adelaide was like the underdog. I was cheering for her art to be noticed. This book was entertaining and a quick read. 4 stars.

This book about a talented woman portraitist in 18th Century France is mostly very good. I enjoyed the way the personal and historical story lines interconnected. I’m also a sucker for any book sprinkled with French phrases and royal protocol.

I didn’t think Adeläide’s story arc was strong enough, overall. There wasn’t a defined goal, other than, I guess, getting the studio she wanted. And there were no stakes.

The author kept referring to another Parisian woman painter as a “rival”, which was strange because no rivalry story was ever explained.

I also wish the author had omitted the detail about the marriage to Andre. It was a letdown. She got married because her name didn’t mean anything anymore. Who wants to read about that? Not I.

I think this could have been a fantastic book with some tweaks to the story line would leave a reader more fulfilled.

The Portraitist by Susanne Dunlap was an enchanting read about an artist I never really knew. I knew all about Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun being an artist and taking art history courses but not really about Adelaide Labille-Guiard. To see the historical points of view of the life of an artist and a woman trying to be famous and competing against Elisabeth vigee Le Brun is insane. Also having to deal with the politics of the art world monarchy it taking place in France and right around the revolution. I highly recommend this book because this artist needs to be known and it really gives you a feeling of the different perspectives to be a women artist in france around the time of the revolution. The writing in strong and the research is immense I highly reccomend this book to be read.

This Arc was given to me by netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Don't forget to check it out august 30 2022. Also in real life apparently this work is at the Ghetty.

Suzanne Dunlap's "The Portraitist" is historical fiction at its finest. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, which presented the artistic life of Adelaide Labille-Guiard. The novel starts in the mid-1770s, just when American is beginning its journey to independence from England, getting help from France along the way. It continues on through the French Revolution, and ends with Napoleon being on the throne (he did eventually have himself crowned emperor). In this time frame, Dunlap gives the reader a window into the life of an artist who should be more well-known for her work, rather than just as the rival of Elisabeth Vigee, Madame Le Brun. Madame Guiard was a great artist in her own right, and Dunlap eloquently presents that through this book. She tackles the difficulty women of the time had at forging a career as an artist. Where Madame Le Brun was willing to play the patronage game, Madame Guiard felt fame should come from hard work. Eventually she ends up playing the game too, but it was clear it went against her principles. She also shows the impact that patriarchal rule had on women's lives...how little real power women had at the time. Finally, she gives the reader a view into the turmoil of the French Revolution, and how it literally remade French society politically and socially. The book ends with an interesting meeting between Adelaide and Elisabeth...one that leaves the reader with a different feeling than would be expected seeing the rivals meet. Dunlap does a wonderful thing by providing an afterword to fully explain her goal in writing the book, a goal I believe she met and exceeded. Fans of historical fiction, political history, and art history will find this book fascinating, as I did.

To be completely honest, I didn't find Adélaïde Labille-Guiard's story as compelling as I had expected, nor did I sympathise with her character as written by Susanne Dunlap as I sincerely thought I would.

From the blurb, the book had everything to appeal to me: a neglected female painter who struggles hard against sexist customs and social norms to follow her dream of becoming a painter on par with the male painters everyone admires, to have her talent recognised, and live off of her art. At this time, 18th century France just before the Revolution, that was an uphill, almost impossible battle for women wanting to be artists. Not only did society not encourage them and threw many obstacles in their way but the artistic environment and the guilds & academies looked down on women wanting to take up the brushes and create beauty. I should've liked this book, I should've liked this character, but I didn't.


For one, Adélaïde was no Artemisia Gentileschi. Art is, of course, subjective, and in my opinion she was rather average as a painter, even producing some mediocre portraiture. She didn't exactly dazzle and <i>wow</i> me, as I see nothing specially revolutionary or original about her art. So, if her art fails to impress by itself, what remains is her personal life.

And there's my biggest issue with this novel. Poor Adélaïde, woe is Adélaïde, abused Adélaïde. That's the beginning and the end of her story as told here. And yes, it's true that she did have a difficult time trying to make a name for herself with her art, she faced prejudice and discrimination and envy, she went against the grain. All true and well and good. But she didn't need to be made a victim of domestic abuse on top of this to earn some cheap sympathy points. The author herself admits there's no basis for thinking she was a victim of domestic abuse of any sort, so why falsify such a fact of her life? Why do some authors feel the need to make real-life women the victims of domestic abuse, or even rape, when there's no basis for it? Why victimise real people in such ways? False rapes and false domestic abuse is still false accusations that do real victims no good. For all we know, Adélaïde and Guiard might have split merely because they were no longer happy or working as a couple! What need do you have to smear the reputation of a dead person that can't defend themselves just so your character can be a poor wee victim?

That left a very sour taste in my mouth, and I couldn't take the characterisation seriously after that. On top of it, the characterisation of Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, a far more talented painter than Adélaïde in my opinion, is subtly a tear-down of Vigée, whom the author sees as a "rival" to her poor wee Adélaïde. And why? Because Vigée was savvier, had more connections and was more liked by the court, including Queen Marie Antoinette? And how is that a fault of hers, I don't know. Adélaïde is always making comments in her head about Vigée, always remarking on her "advantages" and "privileges," the implication being that Vigée is undeserving, enjoying privileges denied her underdog self. She is envious, and sometimes catty regarding the "rival" that has what Adélaïde would like to have. It does Vigée no favours, and questions her talent by always remarking on her connections to the rich and aristocratic, as if her talent had nothing to do with her success, as if she hadn't also faced the sexism and prejudice Adélaïde did, as if because she didn't have a super tragic life she was somehow less interesting than Labille's. It's not accidental, read the Author's Note and you'll notice this bias isn't by accident.

I'm so very disappointed that one can't write about a deserving woman without fake victimhood and without discrediting other women in the same field that achieved more fame. I'd have thought we were over that already, but apparently this trope is still en vogue.

I had no knowledge of this artist and very little of the French Revolution either, so was delighted to get a preview of this book. Obviously well researched, It was an engrossing and delightful read. All the main characters were well drawn, and although you had to keep in mind this is a fictionalisation of characters an events , it was all very plausible. It is well written, with good use of language and description. Complimented by a good cover too. Thank you.

This is historical fiction at its absolute best. It is beautifully-written, extensively-researched, and about a real-life but little-known artist named Adélaïde Labille-Guiard.

This novel tells the story of Adélaïde before, during and after the French Revolution. Despite great talent, she struggles to develop herself as a successful artist in a male-dominated profession where opportunities are handed out easily to men but parceled out parsimoniously to women. I loved how Adélaïde was so strong, not only in persevering in her pursuit of a professional art career, but also in leaving her rotten husband. Divorce was not a possibility until after the French Revolution, so she went back home to live with her father and eventually found love with another man. She was also a champion of helping other women artists, becoming a teacher and mentor. When the Bastille falls, she has just gained a royal commission and her ties to the royal family place her in great jeopardy. She bravely must balance a fine line between continuing her career and avoiding the ire of the revolutionaries.

I loved this novel. A rare five stars from me!

The Portraitist is apparently based on the life of a real female artist living in France during the lifetime of Marie Antoinette. I am not really in the art world, so I’m not surprised that I’ve never heard of her. The problem is that this book didn’t particularly make me interested in learning about her further. I always appreciate stories about women making their way in a man’s world and I found this one particularly interesting because of the artist’s creation of erotic images to pad her income when things were tough. That was an unusual aspect that I appreciated quite a bit. But otherwise I was kind of just bored. And this could just be a me problem, but I really didn’t find this to be compelling in any way.

This was an amazing surprise. I hadn't heard of either the author or of Adelaide Labille Guiard before, but I really enjoyed this book. The writing was vivid, I felt as if the words were leaping off the pages. I felt truly connected to the main character, and was able to understand her struggles.
Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with an eARC.

The Portraitist: A Novel of Adelaide Labille-Guiard
by Susanne Dunlap is a stunning historical fiction that sheds light on a true artist amd a woman that lived before her time.

I absolutely loved going on thus journey to learn about this true artist Adélaïe Labille-Guiard’s life, love, work, and journey in 18th century Paris. Sadly, I had not heard of her before picking up this book. I am so glad the author has written such a wonderful, raw, real, and informative at the same time.

The author’s passion and research were evident in this richly depicted and expertly drawn narrative of a woman that was truly talented, and truly a woman that lived well before the era that would have given her much more than a moment to truly shine.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Books Go Social/She Writes Press for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 8/30/22.